first edition
1879 · New York
by Reid, James D.
New York: Derby Brothers, 1879. First Edition. Very good+ in brown cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and on the front board together with gilt designs and a black border around the edges of the boards. The top edge of the text block is gilt and the other edges are stained red. A small quarto of 9 11/16 by 6 1/2 inches with wear and rubbing to the cloth at the head and heel of the spine, the cloth at the tips of the boards is worn through and there is a prior owner's name written in pencil with a date of "1879" written on the clay coated first free end sheet. There is also a handwritten note at the top of the first preface page, a second note on page 1 and two check marks on page 822. Without a dust jacket and probably as issued. The joints are tight and strong and the hinges are starting. 846 pages of text. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Samuel F. B. Morse, an engraved title page, 44 steel engraved portraits on plates (with tissue guards) and vignettes and a number of drawings within the text. Contains sections on the Morse Memorial and American Telegraphic History as well as the histories of a number of telegraph companies. (Inventory #: TB30794)